Hidden
by multifandomholic
Summary: my version of the book 10 in the HoN series: HIDDEN...enough said... "Hold on to the memory of the healing that happened here this night. You will need that strength and peace for the upcoming fight." - PC Cast-DESTINED
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! This is my version of what i want to happen in Hidden (House of night book 10).. i do NOT own any of the characters (and there is a small scene from destined in here)... everything else came from my brain. THIS WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE ENTIRE HOUSE OF NIGHT SERIES! i will be writing this untill Hidden is published.. ENJOY, and as always PLEASE REVIEW xoxo**

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><p>Chapter 1:<p>

_Zoey_

I was sitting on the bus leaning against Stark's warm protective body, and carefully watching Kalona, who was still outside talking with my Grandmother. She had her scolding face on, she rarely used it, but when she did, she meant business. Every once and a while she would point a finger at Kalona and at the bus toward me. Kalona's face was serious and he took in everything my Grandma was saying. Thanatos was also standing next to the door listening to her lecture. Then, respectfully, Kalona bowed his head and entered the bus. He looked back at all of us -Damien, Shaunee, Erin, Aphrodite, Stevie Rae, Rephaim, Stark and I- with all of us sitting in the seats there was no room left for him. Not to mention we had one more body with us: Dragon's.

"You'll have to stand with me." Thanatos said. Once again Kalona didn't really say anything, he just slightly bowed his head.

This whole idea that Kalona was officially on our side was going to take some getting used to. I know he made a Warrior Oath to Thanatos, but it still felt weird.

"Everyone ready?" Darius said from the driver's seat as he shut the sliding door. The bus sent their solemn chorus of yes's and we took off.

"What do you think Neferet is doing?" Damien asked quietly.

"I bet she is more than ready to stir the shit pot she has been cooking for, like, ever. And not to mention Aurox most likely went back to Neferet, like the little minion he is." Aphrodite said. She gave me a look as if she was reading my mind; she heard me call Aurox Heath, she knew I acted weird, and she gave me her 'we need to talk' look and I returned it with my 'later' look. I rubbed my temples. I _know_I saw Heath there, but I just didn't know what to make out of it.

Darius had just started pulling the bus out of Grandma's driveway when we drove past the circle that had been blighted by Darkness and which was now filled to bursting lavender plants in full, beautiful bloom.

"Wait," I called to Darius. "Stop the bus."

I opened my window and heard my friends do the same. Then, as one, we breathed deeply, inhaling the magickal scent of reblessed lavender.

"Look!" Stevie Rae cried, pointing above the circle.

I looked up and there, hovering, was our Goddess. She was dressed in robes the color of night and wore a headdress decorated with stars. Her smile took in us all, and with the fragrance of flowers, her word drifted through the bus:

_Hold on to the memory of the healing that happened here this night. You will need that strength and peace for the upcoming fight._

I closed my eyes and bowed my head and thought _ah __hell__…_

The rest of the drive was silent. An occasional attempt at starting a conversation was tried, but seemed to fail.

When we finally pulled up to the House of Night, the whole bus seemed to hold its breath. Standing just beyond the iron fence was Neferet, accompanied by Aurox and several other Sons of Erebus and evil red fledglings. Classes were stilling being held and there were other fledglings that were traveling around campus so they could get to their next class.

"This will be interesting." Kalona said.

We all filed out of the bus and I could now, clearly, see the expression on Neferet's face. She looked severely pissed off to see that Rephaim was still alive, but then she snapped her face toward the direction of Stark and Darius, who were carrying Dragon's body.

"What is going on?" she asked. No one said anything; we stood our ground. That's when Kalona must have stepped out of the bus because Neferet sucked in a bunch of air. "What are you doing here?" she snapped. "You were banished from my side for one hundred years. I told you that before, why have you returned?"

"Cut the bullshit Neferet, you've been found out." Aphrodite said.

"What ever are you talking about human?"

"The girl is saying that we know you are no longer a High Priestess for our Goddess." Thanatos said wisely. "As you may know my affinity is for Death, this being so, I held a ritual- as you know- for Zoey's mother. During that, it became clear what happened exactly; you sacrificed her mother to Darkness, proving you are allied with it." As Thanatos talked more and more fledglings started listening.

"This is preposterous!" she screamed.

"Do you undermine my authority?" Thanatos said, and once again she used her connection with air to become the super powerful, scary version of herself. "The High Council has already been notified about your situation, and as of now you are stripped of your High Priestess title and are shunned by all vampyres."

"But—" Neferet tried to intervene.

"Silence! Your gift, Aurox, destroyed one of the beloved professors here, under your authority I assume, and as the new commanding High Priestess of this House of Night, I command you to leave immediately!" Thanatos said with chilling power.

Neferet smiled wickedly. "Fine," she looked around at the crowd. The fledglings- red and blue- stood, frozen, from Thanatos' power. "You are either with me or you are not, and to those who stand against me, you will be destroyed!" she seemed to scream. Then she whispered something into the night, cut her palm, and seemed to vanish in thin air. The red fledglings and Aurox were also taken away from the Darkness Neferet evoked, leaving us alone.

Just as they left Lenobia came running from the stables with Travis right on her heels. She looked like she as ready to fight, despite he small physique.

"What is he doing here, and why aren't you attacking him." She yelled at Kalona.

"Oh my—" Travis gapped.

"Kalona swore his oath to me that he will protect this House of Night. He is no longer the enemy." Thanatos calmly informed Lenobia. "Many things happened tonight; many life changing events." She looked at the body of Dragon. "Some good, and some bad." She fisted her hand over her heart and bowed. "He is happier now that he is with the Goddess."

"What? Who—" Lenobia asked, but it didn't take her long to realize who Thanatos was talking about. "Oh Dragon!" she cried and went over to his body.

"We will hold a service for him as soon as _all_of the students are here. Everyone will be taken out of his or her classes immediately." Thanatos ordered.

Kalona, Lenobia, Travis, and Thanatos were herding the students into the courtyard making sure they were settled, so we could start the ceremony. As the school gathered for Dragon's funeral, our small group that had been living in the tunnels gathered as well.

"This is crazy. I didn't know all of this was gonna' happen." Kramisha said somberly.

"No one did." I told her.

"Hey, hope we're not late. We don't want to get on Thanatos' bad side." Erik said as he pushed along Shaylin.

"Woah, is that the guy you all were talking about?" she asked.

"Yeah, his name is Kalona. He's birdboy's father." Aphrodite pointed at Rephaim.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I just didn't picture him like that." Shaylin said. "You guys said Raven Mocker's were like their daddy because of his black wings." She looked a little confused.

"Yeah…?" I said.

"Well it's just… I don't understand why you guys would lie to me."

"We didn't lie to you, Kalona's wings are black. Can't you see them?" I asked because I was extremely confused.

"No they aren't." Shaylin shook her head. "His wings are white. They're really pretty."

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><p><strong>what do you think? REVIEW PLEASE! <strong>

**xoxoxo**


	2. Chapter 2

**sorry it's short.. but hey, it's an update :) ENJOY!**

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><p>Chapter 2:<p>

_Zoey_

We all looked at Shaylin like she was crazy until Damien's voice interrupted our thoughts.

"Ooohhhh! I get it, it's the whole True Sight thing, right?" he asked.

"I guess. I'm still new to this whole thing, but his wings are definitely white!" Shaylin kept her lovey-dovey gaze on Kalona.

Meanwhile, Thanatos had just finished settling everyone into the seats that had been set up for Dragon's funeral. "Will everyone take their seats please?" She began, then her tone became mournful, but still under control. "I only knew Bryan Lankford for a short time, but let me tell you, he will be missed greatly."

I looked around the courtyard to try and keep myself from snot crying. I noticed the gaslights had been dimmed and an array of yellow, blue, red, green, and purple candles had been set out. They gave off a flickering light that danced off of the magical walls of the school.

Eventually my gaze found Dragon's body. It was wrapped in a white sheet several times to the point where you could no longer see his face; just the discreet outline of his figure. Before the rest of the ceremony started a warrior- who I had not seen before, but stayed despite Neferet's threat- lit the pyre that Dragon was laying upon. Instantly the whole thing started up in flames. The heat given off wasn't out of control like a bonfire, but more like the warmth I feel when I conjure the element fire.

"As you all know, I am very close with Death, and I help those we love pass on from this world to the next. I want you all to know Bryan has found peace once again." Thanatos continued.

From the corner of my eye I could see Rephaim slump his shoulders and put his hands to his face; Stevie Rae embraced him and rubbed his back. She kept whispering to him softly, but I didn't catch any of what she said.

"When he left this world he was welcomed into a new one; one where he could truly be happy with his love, Anastasia. The world that awaits us should not be feared; the otherworld is an extraordinary place where we can be with our Goddess." My eyes started watering as I started to think about my mother. "I want you all to know this man did not die in vain. He sacrificed himself before the monster that Neferet calls, Aurox." Thanatos' powerful voice paused. "There will be hard times ahead of us, and I want you all to be prepared. The road ahead will not be easy, so you must chose now; are you willing to risk your life for the side of the Goddess, or will you chose to be weak and listen to the tainted words Neferet speaks? You have twenty-four hours; by this time tomorrow, those of you who are not willing to fight for Nyx, and what she believes in, are demanded to leave the premises." There was a silence that came over the crowd. Everyone began to look around to find the guilty ones. "You may all stay as long as you wish, but there will be classes tomorrow for those of you staying." Thanatos finished.

Some kids got up and went to their dorms, while those that were particularly close to Dragon balled their eyes out. Soon enough, I was part of that group. My tears started out soft at first but I could help but snot cry. I felt Stark's strong warm body wrap around me and hold out a tissue.

"Thanks." I grabbed it, thinking of Heath. _Heath. _He always had tissues for me whenever I was crying. Now that he was gone, Stark was always there with the flimsy white napkin. The only other person that had been there was Aurox.

The thought hit me hard. _What __if __Heath __wasn__'__t __just __hovering, __ghost like, __over __Aurox __that __night? __What __if __he __WAS __Aurox? __Is __that __possible? __I __don__'__t __know; __I__'__ll __talk __to __Thanatos, __and __unfortunately __Aphrodite, __later. _I thought as I blew my nose.

I realized all of my friends around me were doing the same thing. The symphony of nose being blown was resonating around me. I looked around me and mentally took inventory.

Thanatos took the seat to my right and now everyone was here, except for Kalona.

I looked around, but I didn't have to look far. He was kneeling before Dragon's flaming body with his head bowed. I watched him with curiosity and contemplated his every move.

Suddenly, his giant wings were unfolding and they stretched to the length of the pyre. I couldn't see his face, but I could barely hear him whisper something. Then, in one fluid motion, Kalona forced his wings forward, pushed a continuous flow of air forward and extinguished the fire. Dragon's distorted body no longer lay there. He seemed to have vanished.

Kalona stood back on his feet in front of the smoking pile. Slowly he turned around and walked down the isle next to us with out saying anything.

Thanatos expression looked like she had seen the Goddess herself.

"What was that all about?" I asked her between sobs. Everyone else seemed to notice the little fiasco and they fell silent.

"An extremely ancient act of respect between warriors, I read once that Erebus had performed it at the God's ritutals, but he was influenced by someone; he never mentioned who." She let the silence linger between us.

"Whoa." Was all I could say.

Rephaim lifted his head and his eyes; they were slightly pink. He got up and followed his father across the courtyard and into the professor's dorms.

"Yeah, I think shit is going to get real crazy; real fast." Aphrodite said.

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><p><strong>what do you think? REVIEW PLEASE! i'll try and update this weekend :)<strong>

**xoxoxox**


	3. Chapter 3

**SUPER DOOOOPER sorry i haven't updated. i'm a terrible procrastinator (but i figured it was okay because i have 10 months to write this i don't want to run out of ideas) but i have been writing my other stories (vampire related and one HoN related) and one is almost complete and i've been focusing on that.. anywho.. check those out if you want... and sorry for the wait, i'll try to be better about this**

**i hope you enjoy this chapter, it's got some Aurox/Zoey awesomeness in it! yippie and as always: REVIEW PLEASE**

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><p>Chapter 3:<p>

_Zoey_

"So it's decided. We will still go back to the tunnels?" I asked the herd after Dragon's funeral. Slowly, as kids said their final farewells, the thick crowd began to thin out into their dorm rooms to go to bed, leaving our 'tunnel group' alone.

"It's the only place we can feel really comfortable, Z." Stevie Rae said.

"Yeah I feel that too."

"well we better go back soon, it'll be sunrise in an hour." Stark said.

"yeah." I turned around to go to the bus with everyone else when my seer stone started to warm up. "Crap." I muttered to myself.

"Is something wrong?" Stark asked.

"Um no, I just have to grab something in the school. I'll be to the bus in a second." I lied.

"Okay." He responded skeptically. I smiled back at him to try and make him feel better about the whole thing. He didn't buy it.

He could feel what I was feeling because we were connected; he's my guardian. He knew I was a little panicky. As soon as he disappeared into the short bus, with everyone else, I turned around to look for the reason why my stone was getting warm again and I smacked right into Rephaim.

"Zoey, will you tell Stevie Rae that I'm just going to stay here until sunrise?"

"I don't know if that's the best idea."

"I know all of you are still skeptical of my Father, but he pledged himself to Thanatos. He's changing." He pleaded. He saw the skepticism in my eyes and added: "Zoey, like it or not, he saved my life. I owe it to him to stay here, just for tonight."

I looked into his totally human brown eyes. It was strange that, even when he was covered in feathers, he had the same human eyes; that's what made him so different. "Fine." I finally gave in. "But you have to tell her yourself… I... have to go somewhere."

"Okay." He jogged over to the bus, and I continued my journey.

I walked over to the fountain that had the statue of Nyx with her arm raised and I looked at her cement face and my stone continued to burn. I picked it off of my chest and held it in my hand, trying to cool it. "What is going on?" I asked the statue. The burning continued. I had no other choice but to look through it.

I looked past the fountain and I could see a familiar landscape. Similar to the Grove in Nyx's Otherworld; the one I spent my last moments with Heath in.

Suddenly I saw him. Heath. Heath walked out from behind the trees. Once he saw me he stopped in his steps. He looked rough around the edges, stressed and uncomfortable. Just the sight of him made everything rush back. Our school crushes, the imprint, the imprint break, the imprint (again) moments in the Otherworld, and just a couple hours ago when I saw him attached to Aurox, attacking Dragon and Rephaim.

He started walking toward me. I dropped the stone because of an overload of emotions I couldn't explain.

When I looked at Heath again, Aurox was standing in his spot. "No. Not again." I whispered. He ran up to me now and held my shoulders in place so I couldn't run away. "I don't want any trouble."

"Neither do I, but that's all I have; trouble." His moonstone eyes seemed to look into my soul and I tried to look away. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"You killed Dragon." I spat.

"I was forced to. You know that, you saw it happen. I was going to leave, but something compelled me." As he spoke I struggled to get free. "Please, just listen to me."

"Stark is going to be here. He's going to feel me panicking."

"Then don't panic." He defended.

"Why should I trust you? You're a killer. You're in league with Neferet and you're in league with Darkness." I started spitting out facts about him that would hopefully cause him to let go of me. No luck. He kept holding my shoulders.

"I know, I know." He repeated over and over. "They created me from Darkness, from your mother's sacrifice. I know that now."

Another fact came out; this one wasn't so dagger-like. "You didn't attack me when everyone else thought you would." I said softly.

"You called me a name, a boy's name."

"Heath?"

"Yes!" he squeezed my shoulders. "When you speak of him… I—I don't what happens." He started over again. "I don't know _what _I am, but I know that because I was created by Darkness, I feed off fear, anger, and hatred. It makes me stronger, and there's a part of me, the bull, that likes it."

My heart started racing a little as he was telling me this.

"Do not fear me!" he yelled and then took a deep breath in to control himself, or feed off my fear. I couldn't tell which. "With you, Zoey Redbird, it is different. I do not feed off of your emotions; I _feel _them. I felt your sadness the night I saw you crying and I felt your joy when you were looking through the stone at me both times tonight."

I tried to hold back tears. _He's describing an imprint. _That's what it felt like for Heath when he was imprinted with me. He could feel my emotions. "Do you feel these all the time?" I asked curiously.

"No. Only when I am near you." He let go of my arms and held his head down. My head told my to run, run far away, but my heart kept my legs from moving. "I choose different." He repeated the words from earlier tonight. "I _chose _different, but Darkness commanded—"

"I get it."

"No you don't. You don't know what I am. _I_ don't know what I am! _I_ don't know why you make me feel like this!"

"I think I do." I said softly, cautiously putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "That boy, Heath, do you know anything about him?" I asked. I expected him to know everything. Heath's soul was attached to him; shouldn't he remember everything too?

"No." Aurox sat down on the fountain's edge and looked at me.

"Okay. Do you know what an imprint is?" I carefully sat down next to him. I had to remind myself that at a moments notice he could turn into a scary bull and tear me apart.

He looked like he was thinking for a moment, searching for the answer. "Something between a vampyre and a human. A connection?" he asked unsure of himself. "Neferet doesn't talk much about vampyres. It's like she hates her own kind."

"Really?" I asked. "I guess that makes sense, since she's a crazy—" I stopped midsentence and looked at Aurox. He curved his lips into what looked like a smile, but it quickly faded, which helped me return to my original thought. "Imprinting _is _between a vampyre and human. It's a connection through blood, where the two people can feel things about each other, like emotional and physical pain." I paused. "Before he died, I was imprinted with Heath."

"That's like what I feel with you. I truly feel your emotions." He said. "But we are not imprinted."

"No. But Heath and I were." I said, putting the puzzle pieces together for him. His eyes got wide.

"You call me Heath when you look through that stone." He looked like he figured it out, but then he slumped down and looked confused again. "Why would you call me that? I am not the boy you know. I was created through a sacrifice."

I bit my lip. "When I look through the seer stone, I see Heath. His soul is attached to you."

"How?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." I heard the bus's horn. "I have to go. Don't tell anyone about what we talked about tonight."

He nodded his head. "I'm not stupid Zo."

My arms got goose bumps when he used Heath's nickname for me. "We'll talk later. I'll try to get more answers from Thanatos in the meantime." I started to walk away when he called back to me.

"How will I know you want to talk with me?"

"Trust me, you'll know." I told him as I walked back to the bus.

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><p><strong>So? Like it? Love it? Hate it? let me know, REVIEW PLEASE<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**so.. sorry this is a short chapter because i wrote this really quickly ;) i'm so excited that you guys like this! WHoOo! sooo i like this chapter a lot.. because i love kalona :) he's my weakness**

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><p>Chapter 4:<p>

_Kalona_

Rephaim sat across from his father, staring at him. "So are you going to say anything? Or do you want me to say it."

Kalona lifted his head in response, yet said nothing.

"It's almost sunrise—Stevie Rae will be waiting for me. So I might as well start…" Rephaim said, obviously lying. Kalona had watched his son transform from human to raven, and it was all a punishment for the things Kalona made him do. "What are we going to do about the others?"

The immortal finally lifted his amber gaze to meet with his son's. "Others? You mean your brothers?"

Rephaim nodded his head up and down. "So what's your plan?"

Kalona strode over to the balcony and opened the glass doors. He walked to the edge and gripped the railing. "I'll call them at dusk. They'll stay here and protect the House of Night with us."

"They're like a ticking time bomb. The students wouldn't be safe with them here."

"Rephaim, you know they can listen to simple orders like that. Think of the last time I had them 'protect the school'." Kalona said.

"Oh, I completely forgot how _well _that went last time. If I remember correctly one of them almost killed Zoey."

"I'll be more careful in my directions."

"You were careful last time. You didn't want them to hurt her, yet they did. You know they are volatile " Rephaim retorted.

"Fine! They'll guard the perimeter." Kalona rubbed his temples. "I'll have Nisroc guard within the school." He paused and looked into the sky. "He's changed as well. His humanity is shining through."

"I know." Rephaim laughed. "It must run in the family." Kalona laughed along with his eldest son. Then, much too quickly, Rephaim shivered. "I have to go now. I can't keep everyone waiting."

"Don't lie to me." Kalona said. Rephaim was taken aback.

"What do you mean?" Rephaim asked, shifting in his place.

"I watched you. Damn Nyx for punishing you for what I forced you to do!"

"Father, you didn't make me do anything. They were my decisions and my actions and now I'm facing the consequences."

"Why did keep it from me." Kalona asked softly.

"I was ashamed. I don't know. I wanted you to believe that if Nyx could forgive me, that she would forgive you too."

Kalona looked at the glowing horizon. "You can stay here until you transform. I need to know, what you're going through." The sun rose even more, and Rephaim started to gasp in pain. "It hurts you a lot?" Kalona turned around to face Rephaim who was already taking off his shirt. Obviously he didn't need human clothing as a raven.

"It feels like every bone in my body is breaking." Rephaim chuckled as much as he could without wincing in pain. "Which is probably what is actually happening."

The next thing that Rephaim did was scream as he dropped to his knees, and before Kalona knew it, his favorite son became a raven.

The raven flew off into the horizon, towards his brothers.

. . .

Kalona had his own room in the professor dorms and he paced it back and forth. After a while he finally lay down on the bed and thought about so many different things, but most of all Nyx. Could he ever gain her forgiveness? His son did. He's helping this House of Night fight against darkness; at least he's on the right track.

Then, he felt pain. Much more pain than he ever felt before. His breathing shortened and he grabbed his abdomen to try and stop the throbbing. The only way Kalona could think of describing the pain was death. The pain felt like death.

Kalona knew where to go.

He ran through the corridors, dodging any gazing fledglings that hadn't made it to bed. When he reached her door he forced it open, not paying any attention to the lock. When he entered he saw Thanatos standing at the edge of her bed, trance-like, and it wasn't until now that he noticed there was a ghostly figure in the room as well. Kalona didn't recognize the vampyre, but Thanatos talked to her like she was an old friend.

"_My dear friend, close your eyes..._

_hold my hand, and hear me whisper..._

_My dear friend, you must leave._

_The world no longer needs you, but the Otherworld awaits._

_until we meet again someday."_

Thanatos then made the air around her swirl, causing the ghost to fade and then disappear completely. As soon as Thanatos came out of her trance, Kalona was free of his pain.

She turned to see Kalona in the doorway. "Do you need something?" she asked in a completely normal voice.

"What was that? I felt… I though you were being attacked." He explained.

Thanatos laughed as she sat on her bed, which made her look like a young girl. "I know what you were feeling. And because you've never experienced death before, it hurt you."

"I thought _you_ were dying."

"No, just helping someone pass from this world to the next. When I was a fledgling, these passing were extraordinarily painful, similar to what Aphrodite experiences, but I've gotten used to it after all these years. You, on the other hand, have never felt it before."

"No. But you _are_ okay?" he asked.

"Perfect." Thanatos smiled again as she crawled into her bed.

"Do you mind if I stay. I just… still feel like you need protection."

Thanatos gestured to a small couch. "Feel free." She reached over and turned off the lamp. "Goodnight, Kalona, my warrior."

"Goodnight, Death." Kalona said as he found his way to the leather couch. As his eyelids drooped he couldn't help but feel… good. It felt as if something, or someone was telling him he was doing the right thing. And once again he found himself thinking of Nyx and only Nyx.

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><p><strong>hope you like it :) once again, sorry it's short :( let me know what you think REVIEW PLEASE <strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the long wait, but i have other stories i'm focusing on, and until it's closer to the Hidden release i won't be updating too frequently.**

**i hope you like this one. it may seem really random (a story of shaunee's i put in) but i promise it comes back around... i'm just giving background information :)**

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><p>Chapter 5:<p>

_Shaunee_

"Come on! If you guys don't move your asses, I'll move them for you." Aphrodite yelled from the hallway. Shaunee hurried in her room and added the last touches of makeup to her face. She outlined her warm brown eyes with some eyeliner and mascara, and added a touch of sapphire eye shadow that accented her crescent tattoo. She pulled her dark hair into a braid and grabbed her purse from the bedside table. Shaunee glanced at the picture of her parents. She wished she could be with them again, but then again, she was glad to have them out of her life.

Shaunee only had one thing to remember her mother by, and that was the necklace she was given on her 10th birthday. It was a silver chain that had a half of a heart; her mother had the other half. Coincidentally, Shaunee lost the locket the day she was marked, and now she only had the silver chain around her neck. She kept it around for sentimental purposes, and she could never throw it out.

"Shaunee?" Stevie Rae's Okie accent called to her.

"Yeah?" Shaunee called back to her.

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah." Shaunee mumbled.

"Still bummed about Erin?"

"I'll get over it; just like I get over everything."

Stevie Rae looked down at the floor. "Wanna talk about it on the way to school? Rephaim stayed there, so I need a seat buddy." Stevie Rae nudged her elbow into Shaunee's side, which made her smile.

"Okay." Shaunee caved.

. . .

The school looked as brilliant and magical as always, but something was off. Shaunee couldn't put her finger on it, but something definitely made her uneasy. She noticed the faint glow of the lit lanterns and then got a brush of security. Seeing her element, and having it around her, always made her feel better.

Shaunee followed everyone into the cafeteria to get breakfast. She noticed people missing; only about half of the booths were filled, and normally three quarters of them were filled. The cafeteria seemed empty; like a ghost town. Shaunee knew some kids were still being pulled into Darkness, but not this many. Where are they? What would keeping them from coming out of there dorms? Are they _hiding_? Something _is_ off.

"Where is everyone?" Shaunee finally asked.

"They must have left. Thanatos ordered everyone to leave if they weren't on the side of Nyx." Damien explained. "We must have missed everyone leaving."

"Missed what?" Rephaim asked as he took his seat next to Stevie Rae. Something was off about him too. He seemed fidgety and out stressed.

"All of the fledglings your daddy and Neferet messed up, they're gone." Aphrodite sneered and Shaunee noticed Rephaim slump down. She recognized that look. It was his mix of "I'm ashamed of my past"/"I know something about Kalona that you don't" look.

"Well they're gone now, so we don't need to talk about it." Stevie Rae interrupted and scooted closer to Rephaim.

Then Stark took Stevie Rae's advice, and changed the subject. "So what are we supposed to do? We can't hide here forever, we have to fight Neferet soon or else…" he let his voice venture off. Everyone knew what would happen if Neferet got what she wanted, and no one wanted to talk about it.

Shaunee noticed Rephaim stiffen, then return to normal. Shaunee seemed to be the only one that noticed, so she didn't bring anything up.

"I have to go." Rephaim took one last bite of the toast on his plate, kissed Stevie Rae quickly on the cheek and left the cafeteria.

"What was that all about?" Erin spoke up. Shaunee didn't immediately finish Erin's idea, and it felt good. She felt independent.

Shaunee was so lost in thought she almost didn't hear it. That noise. The same noise she had grown to fear, and that sent shivers down her spine. The sound of flapping wings.

Shaunee tried to rationalize what she heard. _It's probably just Kalona _she told herself, but then she heard the terrible caw of a raven. Then flapping. Then more cawing. "I think I know where Rephaim went." She finally answered the question everyone was thinking about. Stark and Darius were the first two to get up. Everyone else followed them to the grassy courtyard.

Standing there was Rephaim, Kalona, and at least 10 raven mockers. Zoey was the first one to let out a scream. Simultaneously, the raven mockers, Kalona, and Rephaim, turned their heads. Some of them hissed and crouched defensively at the sight of the group. Only one continued to stand straight up, and didn't crouch down. Rephaim noticed the group and his eyes grew.

"Stevie Rae! Go back inside, now." Rephaim ordered.

"What is going on?" She responded.

"Go. Now. Do as I command!" Kalona's voice boomed throughout the courtyard, and nine raven mockers took to the sky. The one that stood standing, and didn't crouch in an animalistic way, stayed.

"Do you mind explaining what is going on?" Zoey walked up to Kalona and punched him in the chest.

"They are protecting the school. They will guard the perimeter, without them everyone is at risk of an attack." Kalona explained smoothly. Shaunee could see Zoey's brow furrow.

"Are you insane?" Zoey continued.

"What about him?" Shaunee finally brought up the fact that one raven mocker stayed.

"This is Nisroc. He will be guarding within the school." Kalona stated.

Zoey huffed out air. "We need to talk about all of this," She threw her arms in the air. "Somewhere else."

"Fine." Kalona followed Zoey and Stark back into the cafeteria. They were also followed by the rest of the group. Only Stevie Rae and Shaunee stayed. Stevie Rae stayed to talk to Rephaim, and Shaunee stayed because she simply couldn't move her feet, all she could do was stare at the raven mocker named Nisroc.

Stevie Rae pulled Rephaim away to talk to him privately. The raven mocker stood, placid. It was hard for Shaunee to decipher his emotions, since they were so foreign. He looked out of place and he look around. At one moment Shaunee caught his red gaze in her own, but he quickly looked away.

"You—You're going to guard the school?" Shaunee stumbled over her words. Normally, she wouldn't be caught dead talking to a raven mocker, but now that she knew Rephaim, it changed her mine. Plus, there was a certain softness about this particular raven mocker.

All Nisroc did was nod his head once. He still didn't make eye contact.

"Good. We need some serious protection from Neferet. You… _don't_ like her… right?" Shaunee continued out of nervous habit.

"Only commands of Father I listen." His voice was deep and carried darkness, but it was still strangely human. Once again, it reminded Shaunee of Rephaim, and how he had more humanity than the others. She noticed a struggle in his voice, like it was difficult for him to choose his words.

"Good." Shaunee said. She kept her distance from the raven mocker, and when Rephaim finally returned she let out a sigh of relief.

"Nisroc," Rephaim nudged his head in the direction of the trees that surrounded the school. Nisroc understood what Rephaim wanted and he unfurled his large black wings and took off to the trees. "I was just explaining to Stevie Rae that everyone is going to have to trust Nisroc. He's the only one who can be trusted to protect within the school, but everyone still has to be wary of him."

"Not to be rude, but I think everyone will be wary of him no matter what. You don't need to tell anyone that." Shaunee explained. She saw Rephaim lift his eyebrows as to say _yeah, that's true._

. . .

After school was out Shaunee decided that she would head off to her old dorm to see if there was anything she'd left there so she could move it into her room in the tunnels.

It was a long walk from the field house to the girl's dorm, and since she had stayed after class later than usual she was the only one walking back to the dorms. Now that Shaunee knew that raven mockers were stalking the campus, she was scared to be walking around by herself.

The familiar, haunting, sound of wings flapping made Shaunee stop in her tracks. She had been looking down, but the sound made her look up. When she did, she saw the giant raven mocker standing before her. Shaunee recognized him from before: Nisroc. She gasped and took a few steps back.

"You need to be gone." He didn't phrase it like a question, but Shaunee answered him like it was

"I—I was held late in class, I was just going back to the rooms…" Shaunee trailed off. The raven mocker didn't say anything so Shaunee gathered herself, and began to speak again. "Are you going to let me by?"

Nisroc cocked his head to the side, and his eyes homed in on the silver chain around her neck. He must have noticed it because it had a certain habit of reflecting in the firelight from the lanterns around the school. "No pendant?" he asked softly.

Shaunee wondered why he was talking about her necklace, but she continued to have a normal conversation with him. "Um… no. I lost it. My mother gave it to me, and I lost it the day I was marked, ironic huh?"

Shaunee didn't know when she started walking, but when she noticed Nisroc walking beside her, she didn't mind.

"So I have a question," Shaunee started. _What am I doing?_ She asked herself. "How come you are so different than the others?"

Nisroc stayed quiet, but his face looked troubled. Shaunee continued. "Is it hard for you to speak? Whenever you talk you look like you're mad at yourself."

This time Shaunee bit her tongue to keep herself from interrupting. After a time of choosing his words, Nisroc answered her question. "Father likes Rephaim. Rephaim speaks. Hate me, father does. Not human enough. I am not Rephaim."

Shaunee's emotions actually surprised her. She felt... sorry for the raven mocker. "So you're saying that if you could communicate better, and make yourself more like Rephaim, your daddy would like you more?"

Nisroc nodded once.

"Well, I could teach you to speak. If that's what you want." _Am I crazy? What am I doing? Stop. I need to stop_. But Shaunee kept talking. "That way you can talk with Kalona." Shaunee offered.

Nisroc's red eyes looked into Shaunee's and for a second she thought she saw the red fade, but then again it probably was her imagination. "Why?"

"Why am I willing to help you?" Shaunee asked. "I have no idea."

Nisroc nodded his head.

"So are you agreeing?"

He nodded again.

Shaunee looked up to see they were at the girl's dorm now. "You can't tell anyone about this. We'll have to meet in secret. How about this time everyday, that way you will learn more, faster, and we can get this done as fast as possible."

"Yess." Nisroc's answer hinted at a hiss, but not as much as his brothers.

"Okay... I'll see you tomorrow then." Shanuee said and then entered the girl's dorm. _I have officially lost it._ She thought. _I can't tell anyone. No one can know about this._

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><p><strong>So i know some of you may be confused about the whole NisrocShaunee thing, but here is my reasoning, Shaunee showed some caring about Rephaim AND Kalona at times... and Nisroc showed his humanity in Destined.. so i'm deciding they are going to have their own story/problems along with the Neferet, Aurox/Zoey, Kalona/Thanatos, Erik/Shaylin story lines... so that's what to expect in the story's future :)**

**let me know what you think of this chapter... and keep in mind the story about her necklace... just saying ;)**

**Review Please!**


	6. Chapter 6

**kind of a filler chapter.. not THAT much action, but it's leading up to more action packed chapters in the future :)**

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><p>Chapter 6:<p>

_Zoey_

"You know what? I can't take this anymore! I can't sit here and fight with you. We aren't making any progress. And if I stay here any longer I am going to be late for class." I smacked my palms against the cold tabletop. And from the corner of my ear I could hear Stevie Rae and Damien giggling, probably at my comment about school. Usually I didn't want to go to class and usually I wouldn't care about being late, but I needed to talk to Thanatos. I needed to talk with her about Aurox—or Heath…

"Zoey's right. If we want to get something done we can't sit here and bicker about it." Stark reassured me by putting a strong arm around my waist. "We have to get to class."

"Right." I nodded my head. "Kalona, if you really are trying to protect this school, then you'll at least reconsider bringing the raven mockers in." I added softly, annoyed with how fast my life was becoming more complicated.

"We need the protection." Kalona said quickly. "Would you rather sacrifice murderous monsters, or innocent children?" He finished matter-of-factly. It surprised me how calm he was. He was talking about his killing children. Granted they _were_ monsters, but for a father to sacrifice his children seems… repulsive, even for Kalona.

"We'll talk about it later." My head ached and I had a feeling it was going to ache even more after my talk with Thanatos.

I made my way to my first hour, and private time with Thanatos was out of the question. Everyone else had first hour with Thanatos because we were all _different_, and now that all of the red vampyres were gone, we were the only group left.

"It's nice to see you all again." Thanatos said in a perfectly normal voice. If I hadn't known better, I would have guessed she didn't just watch the world flip upside down. I would never have guessed she had just watched a High Priestess ally herself with Darkness. "On a more serious note we have to discuss the matter of Neferet." _And we're back to normal._ "You are all in this class because you have special powers; gifts that make you different from everyone else. Now, normally asking help for something this from young adults like yourselves would be ludicrous, but these are difficult times, and difficult times call for drastic measures." Thanatos talked all hour and we brainstormed ideas about how we need to destroy Neferet. All in all, we didn't get very far. Neferet has allied herself with darkness, and in that process she has become more and more immortal. She can't be killed, at least not by any known measures. Simply said: we had nothing, even after talking for the whole hour.

After class I practically had to force Stark go to his warrior training. He wasn't very lenient about going since Kalona had adopted Dragon's teaching responsibilities. I told Stark to go because he could use Kalona as a moving target, and never have the regret of a death on his hands. Stark laughed at the thought and kissed me on the lips. After Stark forced himself to leave, I wandered over to Thanatos's desk.

She was looking at papers and didn't look up to see who was standing before her, she just knew. "Can I help you Zoey?" she asked with her head down.

"Actually, yes. Um…" I stuttered as I tried to pick my words. Thanatos raised her head so that she now looked into my eyes. "Can I talk to you about Aurox?"

"Neferet's creature?"

"Yes." I shuddered at the word. _Creature_. That's what Aurox was, a mix of man and beast, but Heath was there, and Heath was definitely _not_ a monster. "How much do you know about what he is?"

"I have my suspicions, and from what we learned the other night," she gave me a knowing look. "my suspicions were confirmed."

"Suspicions about what?" I took a chair and pulled it close so I could sit down.

"When I asked for my students to write down questions, Aurox asked about what he was, so I did my research, and what I came across wasn't all that shocking. Neferet confirmed that Aurox was a gift, given to her by Nyx,"

"You don't believe that story do you?" I interrupted.

"Of course not, but I do believe she was given him as a gift by the white bull. Long ago, when I was researching about the bulls, I stumbled across a creature that could be made through a sacrifice. Of course, only the white bull was evil enough to sacrifice an innocent being which is why Aurox is such a terrible creature." She paused. "Aurox is a vessel. He was created through your mother's sacrifice. Normally, this creature would be soulless, but he is something completely different." She looked into my eyes.

"Yeah, I think he's different too. That night, when we cast the spell, I looked through my seer stone, and I saw Heath. I mean, I didn't _see_ Heath, I saw his… spirit attached to Aurox…" My mind faded back to the night. "But you said you thought a vessel was soulless, so why would I see Heath's soul?"

"Many things have to be perfectly aligned in order for a vessel to be created. If one thing isn't perfect, the vessel isn't perfect." Thanatos thought out loud. "Nyx may have seen that opening and chosen your consort to inhabit Aurox."

"But what was wrong? Neferet sacrificed my mother." I held chocked on the words, disgusted by every one.

"Maybe she wasn't the right sacrifice?"

"Ohmigosh!" I sat at the end of my chair. Thanatos looked intrigued. "Neferet held the sacrifice at grandma's." I stood up. "Neferet wanted to sacrifice my grandma! What if she still wants to?"

"Calm down Zoey, Neferet seems to have settled for your mother. As far as she knows, there nothing wrong with the sacrifice used to make the vessel." She stood up as well. "You have to pretend like nothing is wrong."

I nodded my head. Pretend like nothing is wrong. How hard could that be? For someone that had a normal life: easy, for me: impossible.

I decided to skip second hour and I called for Aurox instead. It wasn't hard. I've done it before, if I think of him, he'll feel it—at least that's what happened with Heath.

All of the other fledglings had made their way to classes, and had settled there, so I strode over to the secluded statue of Nyx. Sitting on the rim of the cement, was Aurox. His head was down, his hands were in his pockets, and the moonlight was reflecting his blonde hair making it seem fluorescent. I watched him as he kicked dirt around with his shoe. He kept circling his foot around, but only halfway, almost like he was making a crescent moon, but he always erased it immediately.

I cleared my throat and his head shot up. "You came here fast." I said.

"I was close-by." He said quietly.

"Why?"

"Neferet wanted me to check what you and your friends are doing." He said nonchalantly.

"And what are you going to tell her?" I asked a little sad that he would willingly spy for Neferet. He seemed to ignore my question and look up into the sky.

"Those bird things... how many are there?"

"I don't know? Too many. You're going to tell Neferet about the raven mockers?"

"No. They're just an... inconvenience." He raised his lip in disgust.

"So what are you going to tell Neferet?"

"I don't know. Nothing, I guess. I can lie to her. It's kind of a rush, betraying her orders deliberately." Aurox smiled, but it was quickly replaced as his eyebrows creased together. "I'm different than what she expected. Sometimes I speak too much, and she picks up on my feelings; she finds it strange when I say these things, but she ignores them." Aurox kicked more dirt.

"Good." I sat next to him. "Keep her thinking nothing is wrong."

"_Is_ something wrong?" he questioned.

"No. No. It just wouldn't be good for anybody if she found out you weren't what she expected, or if she found out about our meetings."

"Yeah…"

"So I talked to Thanatos, and she told me some pretty interesting things." I paused. "Do you remember anything about how you were created?"

"No, I don't know how I was created or what I even am. All I know is that I'm different. Well, now I know it might have something to do with that boy…" He stopped to try and remember.

"Heath." I said giving Aurox the name he was searching for.

"Right." Aurox winked a moonstone eye at me. Then he went into a state of concentration. "It's hard to remember. Everything is jumbled up, like I wasn't whole yet." He used his hands as he talked. Then he shut his eyes as he continued to speak. "The first thing I can remember is Her. Neferet."

"Anything else?"

He squeezed his eyes tighter. "She was bloody. She was the most beautiful, destructive thing—"

"Okay, I do not need to hear anything els—"

"You're mom." He interrupted me. He seemed to be saying whatever came to his head because if he didn't, he would forget it. "I saw that vision. You're mom was killed by Neferet, correct?"

I shook my head up and down. "She was a sacrifice."

"I know." He laughed a little and let his body fall back so he was lying under Nyx's stature. "I'm not _that_ stupid." He talked up at the statue more than he was talking to me. The gesture confused me, but I ignored it.

"So you _do_ know what you are?"

"No." He started counting on his fingers. "I know I was created from a sacrifice, I know I'm _not_ supposed to feel, I know Neferet can control me, but more recently, I know I can defy her commands."

"And you can turn into a freaky bull." I thought, but ended up talking out loud. Aurox's head turned toward me.

"I'm supposed to be a weapon." Aurox stuck another finger up as he corrected me. I soaked up his words in my mind. If he was supposed to be a weapon, which means Neferet has thought about us as a threat. That also means she is not entirely confident. She has an Achilles' Heel, an Aya; we just need to find it.

"I talked to Thanatos." I started. Aurox sat up.

"Why didn't you say that first? What did she say?"

"You're a vessel. A soulless gift from Darkness, created from a sacrifice."

"Huh."

"Yeah, so wherever you are staying, find a library, or a computer and research about it." I stood up. "Because that's about all I know about it." I didn't want to tell Aurox everything because I still couldn't tell if he could be trusted. I was probably making a stupid mistake; I've made so many before. What makes this one any different? "You have to go." I ordered as I saw some students walking around. I could feel my pulse rising as more and more people starting filing out of their classes.

"Now? But we just started getting to the good stuff." He whined playfully.

"Yes. Now. Go!" I shooed him away as I looked nervously back at the plaza. By the time I turned back around to give him one last shoo, he was gone. He left no trace of him every being here. _Good_. I thought. _This is my secret._ Let's just hope it doesn't blow up in my face.

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><p><strong>Let me know what you think :) Review Please!<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**this is the chapter where you have to remember the story about shaunee's necklace, so if you forgot, go back and read about it (Chapter 5?)**

**any way... i like this chapter :) i smiled :) **

**and the end of this was inspired by the song I WAS WRONG by SLEEPERSTAR (mostly the last 42 seconds)... if you want to listen and read, start listening at the page break indicated by . . . **

**:) ENJOY**

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><p>Chapter 7:<p>

_Shaunee_

The next day Shaunee went to all of her classes, like normal; she pretended nothing was wrong, like normal, but at the end of the day she didn't meet up the rest of the group. Usually she would meet up with them in the cafeteria and they would eat their pre-dinner snack, but she told them she had to skip and study instead. Both Erin and Aphrodite gave her a "what-the-actual-fuck?" look, which made her think Aphrodite and Erin were more Twin-like than her and Erin had ever been.

Shaunee let out a sigh and was walking out of the field house when she saw Nisroc's dark figure lurking in the shadows. She gave a quick nod so that he knew she had seen him, and he flew away.

She started heading toward the wooded area of the campus where she saw Nisroc disappear. _Better for keeping secrets _she thought. Inside of her one-shouldered bag were notebook paper, a sharpie, a few pencils, and a simple book she had picked up at the library. She didn't know how (or why) she was going to teach Nisroc anything about literacy, but here she was. She didn't have any younger siblings, and she never babysat, so she never had any experience in teaching reading, or talking, for that matter.

At a small opening, Nisroc was sitting on a gray flat rock. It was a particularly dark night and the stars twinkled, as if they were using the monthly small moon as a chance to shine brighter than everything else in the sky.

Nervously, Shaunee looked back through the protection trees. Any onlookers wouldn't be able to see them, unless they were looking for a raven mocker and a teenage girl…

When Nisroc noticed Shaunee come close, he stood up, but said nothing. Shaunee inspected the rock more now that he was no longer sitting on it. It was a nice flat surface. A perfect desk.

Shaunee dropped her bag next to the rock. "Ready?" She asked as she took a seat on the dirt and criss-crossed her legs. When she looked back up at Nisroc he seemed about ten feet taller than usual. Shaunee decided to distract herself from the fear she was overwhelmed by and prepped the 'work station'.

She grabbed the paper and writing utensils, to start, and it was then she noticed that it was far too dark to see anything, so she stood back up, found a stick, crumpled some paper, and made a small fire. It was big enough that it would create light, yet small enough that it would not cause too much suspicion amongst fledglings. Quietly she called her element.

"Fire, I need you to light the woodpile for me, but please don't make it too noticeable." She whispered, and instantly the wood caught aflame. She looked to Nisroc and saw his eyes widen. The fire seemed to reflect in his eyes, which canceled out their red tint.

"Okay, that's better." Shaunee brushed her hands together in accomplishment. "What?" she asked Nisroc, who was still looking surprised. "My element is fire, I can control it." She informed quickly.

"Intriguing." He said. It shocked Shaunee that he used such a large word, but she knew he didn't have a problem with words, it was putting them together correctly was the problem.

"So let's get started." Shaunee sat down once again. This time Nisroc sat down beside her, adjusting his large black wings to accommodate his new position on the ground.

Shaunee began to think about where to begin, and after a few moments, she had nothing. _Goddess, I wish Damien was here. He's so much better at this than I am._ She thought. There was huffing and puffing as Shaunee tried hopelessly to think of a way to teach Nisroc. The longer she waited, the longer the silence grew between them, and the more Shaunee could feel Nisroc's gaze landing on her. More time went by and suddenly an idea popped into her head.

"Okay, I'm going to give you a subject, and then you're going to give me a short sentence that has to do with the subject. If you're wrong, I'll correct you, and then you'll repeat after me. Understand?"

Nisroc took in the information and paused for a moment, but eventually he nodded his head, so Shaunee started.

"First, how would you introduce yourself to me?"

"Nisroc." He put his palm on his chest.

"Okay…but this time, say it more like, 'My name is Nisroc'."

"My name is Nisroc." He repeated.

"Yeah. Good. Sometimes you have to over explain things. I don't know why, it's just what people do. I understood you before, but the second one is what people do now." She explained and when Nisroc seemed to understand, she continued. "All right, hmmm, let's see. The next topic is…" She looked around for inspiration and then smiled. "Fire."

Nisroc used his usual method of communication, and nodded at first. Then, he looked at the fire, and for a long time he just looked at it, and Shaunee thought he would never answer, but she could see determination in his eyes. _He is taking his time because he wanted to be correct. He doesn't want to mess up._

Finally, he opened his beak. "Fire burn bright." He said. His voice was deep and it left a questionable tone in it like he didn't know if what he said was right or wrong.

"Good. That's really close. If you want to polish it up you might say, 'The fire burns brightly.' Or something like that. Now you try."

A pause. "The fire burns brightly."

"yepp. Just like that. Now how about a different topic…flying." She said. Maybe if she chose a topic he could relate to, he would learn faster.

This time he didn't waste as much time as before. "I use wings to fly."

"Yes!" Shaunee said with excitement. "These are really simple sentences, and you can make them all by yourself if you take time to think about them." Shaunee praised. "I think if you keep up this pace, we can have you keeping a normal conversation in no time."

"Thank you." He said. Then silence fell between them until Nisroc spoke again. "Why do you help? Why are you no fear?"

"'_Why aren't you afraid_?'" Shaunee corrected quickly and automatically. "I don't know. Recently, I've been doing things I can't explain, and by the way, I never said I wasn't afraid." She let the last part slip from her lips.

In response, Nisroc scooted away from her and returned to resting his hands on his knees. It was a small gesture, but it definitely made Shaunee feel less afraid. She smiled.

_Why _am _I helping him? _Shaunee thought about it for a moment. Maybe deep down she was trying to help Nisroc get closer to Kalona because she wanted to get closer to _her _father. She knew it was never going to happen… _so I decided to help him instead?_ It was a long shot, but that's what she was going to tell herself from now on. She just wanted to be close to her parents again. It was just a deep-rooted psychological issue that she was fixing through Nisroc. Nothing else.

She fiddled with her necklace chain automatically as she thought about her family.

Nisroc noticed her actions and spoke up. "Something is wrong?"

"What?" Shaunee was snapped out of her trance-like state. Nisroc pointed at her necklace. "Oh, it's, uh, nothing. I'm fine." Shaunee plastered on a fake smile.

. . .

One week went by, and everyday after her classes, Shaunee met up with Nisroc and they had their private meetings. The meetings were short, but Shaunee could see a definite improvement. His speech might not have been sophisticated as it should be, but he did learn quickly, and he could structure sentences correctly.

After tonight's meeting, Shaunee had gone home and felt drained. Since she was spending all of her extra time with Nisroc, so she had no free time and she ended up staying up later trying to get all of her work done. One of the perks of having Erin as a twin: she was the best at talking people out of work, but now Shaunee found herself doing more homework than she ever remembered.

Everyone had left the showers and was tucked into their beds, and once again Shaunee found herself up later than everyone else, and alone.

She was walking back to her room, in her pajamas, as she dried her hair when she heard something rustling at the doors. It sounded like a trashcan was moved. The doors shook beneath their locks. No one _ever_ used the entrance near the showers, and _that_ confirmed that whatever was making the noise, was not acquainted with the layout of the tunnels.

Slowly Shaunee crept forward, and she prepared herself to call her element. She padded over to the wooden doors and listened. Nothing. Shaunee opened the door and instantly transformed her body into a defensive position. She was ready to fight, only no one stood outside. It was just Shaunee and the night. She took a few steps forward and the sole of her foot stepped on a hard object.

"Ow!" She lifted her foot up to find a ripped white cloth with string encasing something the size of a pebble. A gift? Shaunee picked the thing up and unraveled it in her hand. She untied the twine and pulled off the fabric to find a charm.

A piece of metal –it almost looked like a clothes' hanger—wrapped around a red stone. The red color instantly reminded her of two things: Fire, and Nisroc's eyes. Instantly Shaunee knew whom it was from. And now that she looked closer she noticed small scrapes on the metal, almost like he used his beak to bend and shape the charm.

She looked around for any sign of the raven mocker, but he had disappeared into the night.

Shaunee unclasped her silver chain, beaded her new pendant on, and placed her new necklace back on her neck.

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><p><strong>let me know what you think! i heart REVIEWS! :D<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**sorry it took so long to update. i was busy updating my other stories (i'm writing a new one AND a published one) and i have also been busy (i went to New York! yay! fun fun) so i hope you enjoy this one... after this we are going to get into the action now, a little in this chapter and in the future :)**

**ENJOY**

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><p>Chapter 8:<p>

_Kalona_

The winged immortal paced back and forth in Thanatos' chamber, and clenched his jaw every so often, deep in thought. Even though he heard Thanatos open the door, he paid little to no attention to her.

"What has gotten you so troubled?" she asked, sitting down on the chair close to him, and crossing her legs.

Despite her question, Kalona kept pacing. "It has been far too long. Not once has Neferet attacked."

"She is in hiding, planning something most likely." Thanatos added. They both seemed to be guessing as much, but neither of them wanted to think of the consequences that were to come with it.

"Which is what I am afraid of." Kalona stopped in his tracks. "Silence is evil's greatest co-conspirator."

There was a moment of silence as both of them took in the graveness of the words, when, suddenly, there was a shot. Kalona had only heard one other time before in this modern world, when his sons were shot out of the sky. It was a gunshot.

Both of them raced out of the tower without any hesitation. Automatically, they thought the worst: Neferet had gotten to one of the fledglings, but she was more creative than that. She has Darkness on her side. She has killed many people with Darkness and has walked away. She would never make one of her kills so… obvious.

As Kalona entered the courtyard, he found the source of the shot. He saw the human, Travis, with his arm extended, and a gun at the end. Zoey and her friends, along with Rephaim, were closing in to see what all the commotion was about. And finally he saw his son, Nisroc, on the ground, crying out in pain, and clutching his side.

Instantly, his body started moving for him, and anger took over. With in a few long strides, he was standing next to the human. Kalona stood a full head taller than him, but he did the same for any person he met. With his face in a something close to a snarl, Kalona reached his strong arm out, grabbed for the human's throat, and squeezed his hand around it. He pushed the human's body against the field house, and lifted the human off of his feet. Travis instantly dropped the gun and clutched Kalona's deadly arm to try and stop the pressure around his throat. He coughed and choked. Kalona liked seeing the human in pain, suffering for what he did to Nisroc.

From the side of his vision Kalona saw Rephaim kneel at Nisroc's side to tend to his wounds with bloody hands. He could see Zoey yelling, but he could not hear her. All he knew was anger.

His grip tightened. The human struggled more.

Voices started breaking through, but they were muffled. He recognized Zoey's, and then Thanatos', and finally the horse mistress's, Lenobia.

"Kalona! Let him go! He was only following my orders. It was an accident!"

"Father…" he heard his favorite son plead.

He looked into the human's eyes. He had that look, that look that came right before death. He used to see that look all the time. _Used to. _He thought. _It is different now._

Kalona let go of his grip. The human fell to his knees and inhaled sharply. Lenobia rushed to his side and gave Kalona a pointed look.

"What the hell? You're supposed to be protecting the school, not hurting the people within it!" Zoey pushed on the immortal's shoulder aggressively.

"I was protecting my son." Kalona replied softly.

"Well, news flash, he was just shot. You're a little late." Aphrodite sneered.

"Then I was avenging—" Anger started building in Kalona once again. So, he collected himself and started again, more calmly this time. "You are correct Zoey, I was not thinking clearly."

Zoey's stature stiffened, almost like she did not expect Kalona to apologize. "Oh." She said.

"We need to get the bullet out of him." Rephaim spoke up. He was right; Nisroc would not heal properly until that bullet was out of his body.

Kalona began walking to the infirmary, but Thanatos pulled him aside, Darius, Rephaim, Shaunee, and Stevie Rae continued on.

Thanatos spoke in a hushed tone. "What you did… took a lot of strength."

Kalona raised an eyebrow.

"You were going to cave into your old habits, but you broke through. You made the right choice, again."

"Again." Kalona breathed. Words could not describe how good that word felt coming out of his mouth. How good it felt doing the right thing.

"But there is still changes that need to be made." She mused. "But we must keep our attention on Neferet."

Kalona nodded in agreement and walked away.

. . .

Kalona remembered the infirmary from last time he had been in it, but to day his motives were entirely different. The walls were tiled white with a blue stripe at eye level. There were long lights spotted over tables, and there was one over his son. Nisroc lay across a silver table while his wings drooped off the sides. Rephaim also kneeled near by. He was holding Nisroc's hand. There was no doubt in Kalona's mind that Rephaim still cared for his brothers, and that he was here to help Nisroc through the pain, but Kalona thought maybe Rephaim was here because he knew what Nisroc was feeling. Rephaim had been shot out of the sky. _And was then torn away from me by The Red One. _Kalona thought. _It is better for him now… being human. But he is punished at every sunrise._ Kalona's thoughts whipped back and forth between the good and the bad. He struggled with thoughts like this everyday.

Kalona looked over to the corner only to find Shaunee and Stevie Rae sitting there with worried expressions on their faces.

The warrior, Darius was standing above of Nisroc and seemed to be picking around with a knife. His hands move and pick around the wound and Kalona saw Nisroc's hand squeeze tighter.

Kalona began thinking about how his son had evolved in this new world. His speech had improved and his understanding had as well. The more he was here, the more he became human, not a monster. But everything human about him vanished when he let out a terrible, bird-like shriek.

"Got it." Darius held up a golden piece of shrapnel. Nisroc's chest rose and fell as he tried to regain his breath. Soon, his breathing slowed and Kalona knew he was healing now.

"Thank you." Kalona said to the warrior.

The following silence was sign for everyone to leave.

"Tell me," Kalona began. "Have you or any of your brothers picked up any disturbances?"

Nisroc was now able to sit up, and lean on his elbow. He shook his head. Kalona looked at Rephaim now. He shook his head as well.

"She is up to something," Rephaim said. "and she does not want us finding out what it is, so she is hiding in the shadows."

"Nisroc, as soon as you are able to fly, search with your brothers. Go to the school where the red ones are hiding, go to the manor where she and I took shelter… go anywhere you feel she may be hiding. Be vigilant. The more time she has to plan, the worse her attack will be." Kalona said grimly.

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	9. Chapter 9

**so i updated quick :) yay! i hope you guys like it... it's longer too :)**

**this is kind of a Lenobia/Travis appreciation chapter lol... OH and if you haven't read Lenobia's Vow, some of this won't make sense and it may spoil the novella a little, but no matter what i write it will never be like the real story so i suggest you read it ;)**

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><p>Chapter 9:<p>

_Lenobia_

Zoey and her friends had let, leaving the horse mistress alone with Travis. He tried to stand up, and when he did, Lenobia pushed him back down.

"Lenobia…"

"Shhh." She would respond. She did not want him to strain anything. He almost died. "So fragile." She whispered to herself.

Lenobia could feel Travis's smile on her. "I may be fragile in your eyes, but I'm fine, really."

Lenobia looked at his neck where Kalona's hand had been; it was red and turning purple where the fingertips would have been. Lenobia flashed back to the moment. Travis choking. Kalona squeezing harder… _The fire burning everything, including her love and herself…_

_No! _She spoke in her head, to try and snap her out of hallucination. _That was not Travis._

Lenobia felt a warm tear fall down her cheek. Quickly, she wiped it away. She could not let Travis see her like this.

Gathering her things she said, "I have to go." But before she could leave, Travis grabbed her wrist.

"Why in such a rush. Two seconds ago and you didn't want me to move a finger, now you're leaving me alone?" he asked. Lenobia stayed silent. "Is this because of the kiss we shared?" Travis's voice was softer now, gentler. "Now, I'm not calling myself a romantic, but we have somethin', and I don't think you should being denying that."

"I would be lying to you if I thought we do not share something, but you and I do not belong." Lenobia tried to keep her mouth shut as much as possible. The more Travis knew, the more he would try to get in her head. Lenobia did not want another human in her life. Lenobia did not want another man in her life. She vowed it.

"Because you're a vampyre and I'm not?" he defended.

"Exactly that! Your life is so short." Now that she started, she could not stop. "Look at how easy it is for you to die; you almost did tonight. You could have died and I would have lived on, I would have lived on with what? Heartache? Sorrow? Grief? I will live on for centuries more than you. If I get _involved _with you it will only hurt_ me_ even more. I can't do that to myself again—" Lenobia's speech was cut off by her tears. She closed her lips together and tried to hold back the sobs, but it didn't work. At this point, she did not care how powerful she looked to Travis—after all, the only reason she acted that way was to keep him away, but she had just told him everything, so she could show him everything now.

Travis's large, warm arms embraced Lenobia, and he pulled he into a laying position, like him, so she could rest her head on his chest. Lenobia listened to the rhythmic beat of his human heart. She found it peaceful.

Back in one of the stables, a horse cried out. Lenobia could tell it was Bonnie, Travis's huge Percheron. From the distance Lenobia could hear her rattling her ropes and stall door, almost like she wanted out.

"Looks like I'm not the only one that wants to comfort you." Travis paused. "You were in love with a human before?" he asked softly.

"Yes." Lenobia said. She could not believe that she got herself in this position. Was she really going to tell Travis about _him? Could she _tell Travis?

If she was going to start acting authoritative again, she'd lost that battle minutes ago when she started crying, so she figured, she might as well tell.

Lenobia sat up now, leaning on her knees. "I was not marked at the time I met him. I was on a ship, and he tended to the horses." Travis smiled. "We promised each other that we would live together as soon as the ship docked in New Orleans, but… when I landed, I was marked."

Travis shifted his position, his face turned down in a frown. "He left you for that?" he said more as a statement.

"No. He did just the opposite, he said he would wait." Lenobia could feel the tears bubbling up again, and a big lump for in her throat. "but the Father… he set the building on fire—and Martin died in there… to save me." Now Lenobia was completely crying, and she didn't resist anymore.

Travis pulled her in again, like he was protecting her from all of the bad memoires. "Shh. It's okay." He repeated to her, but that's all he said. He did not try to pull more information out of her; he simply comforted her.

Lenobia lifted her head again and she could see she left a wet spot on his shirt. "Oh, and now I ruined you shirt…"

Travis smiled. "It will dry." He touched his thumb to her face to wipe away her tears. "You've suffered a lot. No one should hold all of that information to themselves or keep them from loving another."

"You don't understan—"

"I do. I've been hurt in love before, but I've healed…" he chuckled softly. "_It will dry."_

"Even if I… _dry…_ it still does not make up the fact that I will eventually lose you, and go through the same pain again."

"Then we take what time we have, and we live with it to the fullest. Don't take nothin' for granted. If we have somethin' special, then let's celebrate that. Instead of suffering, and grieving, and torturing yourself, be happy. Isn't that what _he _would have wanted you to do: be happy…" Travis kept talking, but Lenobia ignored the rest. For being so young, he was wise. Martin would not want to she Lenobia so troubled and miserable. If Travis made her happy, then she should be with him.

By the time Lenobia was done internally debating, Travis was still talking, and she silenced him with a kiss. It was as much of a shock to him as it was to her.

The feeling of his lips on her felt so right. She was happy. She felt no guilt. _If this were not planned to happen, the goddess would have arranged differently. _Lenobia thought.

But, all too soon, Travis broke the kiss. "I'm not goin' anywhere. I promise."

"Do you vow it?" Lenobia asked.

"I vow it." He repeated.

. . .

Around dusk, Lenobia began waking up. She was in her bed, but she clearly remembered falling asleep in Travis's arms, in the hay. _He must have taken me up here._

Quickly, she got herself dressed and ready. Many things still had to be done before her class started.

She rushed out of her loft and almost ran into Travis.

"Woah, slow down, girl." He said. He was shirtless and his chest was glistening with sweat. He was carrying two water pales and a bale of feed over his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Lenobia asked. She had gotten up early, even for her, so why was Travis up?

"What does it look like? I'm feeding the horses." He continued walking down the pathway to the horses. He stopped in front of Lenobia's black mare and hooked up the pale of water. He started petting the large horse on its wide forehead as it drank from the pale.

He pulled in the mare's head and whispered something into its ear. Mujaji's ears flicked back and forth as Travis whispered, and when he stopped, the mare whinnied. He turned around with a sly smile on his face.

"What was that?" Lenobia asked with her hands on her hips.

Travis raised his eyebrows and shrugged. "You're the horse whisperer, remember?" He winked, and then went on to tend to the rest of the horses.

There was only one word that could describe how she felt around Travis: happy.

Everything peaceful until the stable door was forced open. It was Damien.

"Lenobia, come quick!" He was out of breath, like he had been running; his tone was a mixture of panic and amazement all in one. What would cause him to act this way?

With out any further commands Travis was on her tail, gun slung in pocket, ready to fight whatever was out there.

As soon as they exited the field house Lenobia saw the cause of the commotion.

The first person she registered was Kalona, and that he was wrestling on the ground with someone else.

As they kept spinning and tumbling around she did not know why she had not recognized this stranger before.

His golden wings. Bronze hair and skin. _Erebus._

"Stop!" she yelled. Zoey had told her that Kalona used to be Nyx's warrior, which meant he now had revenge to spill upon Erebus, but how and why Erebus was even here, on Earth, bewildered her. All she knew was Kalona was fighting him, and he needed to be stopped; these were two immortal, immovable forces.

Other students gathered in the courtyard and gazed in amazement, with their mouths agape. From the corner of her eye she saw Stark draw his bow. _The arrow won't kill Kalona; just stop him from attacking. _She thought.

But before anyone did anything to stop them, they rolled around once more, this time Erebus was on top, pinning Kalona to the ground. His forearm was holding Kalona down to the ground. "Beat you again." He said with a playful smile on his face.

Just a soon as the commotion started, they stopped. Erebus stood up, unfurled his magnificent wings, and cleaned the dirt of him. Then he reached out a hand to help Kalona off of the ground.

_They were not fighting; they were… playing._

"Excuse me, I do not mean to be disrespectful, but why are you here?" Thanatos asked with her head slightly bowed.

"Nyx has sensed a great threat coming this way, she deemed it necessary for all of you to have extra protection." Erebus had a smooth voice, and much less playful than it had been before.

"I am their protection." Kalona exclaimed.

"She deemed it necessary because the threat is more than any of us would anticipate." His grew in seriousness.

"Doesn't she need protection?" Zoey asked.

Erebus turned his head around to look at her. "She does, and she can defend herself as much as possible, but if the moment comes when the danger is too great, then I will return to her side. However, the white bull—Darkness—is in this world, not hers. As of now, she is in no immediate danger, where as you are."

"Danger? There is no danger?" The voice came from no one in the crowd, but from some one that had just entered the school's gates. The voice was familiar, but none of them ever expected to ever hear it again.

Thanatos was the first to speak up. "Shekinah?"

Lenobia remembered Shekinah; she came here before Kalona, and tried to help the school after all of the losses they had endured, and tragically Neferet killed Shekinah before she could be stopped.

This was no longer the same vampyre High Priestess.

All of the tattoo markings had been changed from sapphire to crimson. Her eyes glowed red and there was seemed to be a sense of Darkness roaming around her, waiting to pounce.

She tilted her head slightly to the side and smiled. "Thanatos, so nice to see you again."

Thanatos did not respond. She only grimaced.

Shekinah was soon joined by the other red fledglings and Aurox. If Nyx had sent Erebus to protect the school, this was not the threat, this was only the beginnig.

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**and btw i assume Lenobia would put up more of a fight, but i really like her and Travis together sooo... ya...**

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	10. Chapter 10

**a combination of procrastination, SEVERE writer's block, a busy life and writing another FF, caused this chapter to be publish so late. no excuses... sorry :(**

**i think this is kind of short but i am really out of ideas for this... i'm just excited for HIDDEN to actually come out! if you haven't read the official first two chapters go to the HON website and click "read excerpt" :)**

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><p>Chapter 10:<p>

_Zoey_

_No. _I thought. _No, this can't be happening. Shekinah can't be a red vampyre. Aurox can't be here. I can't fight him._ Heath is in there. I know it and I have proof, but he's sided with Neferet. _Goddess_, what am I supposed to do?

"Can we help you?" Erebus asked Shekinah, stepping forward defensively.

"Actually," Shekinah began, but Thanatos soon cut her off.

"I believe you and your fledglings are no longer welcome here. I made that very clear to them when they chose the path of darkness, and they left. Why are you returning?" Thanatos said in her completely calm, yet powerful voice. It almost seemed like she wasn't even freaked out at the fact that Shekinah was a red vampyre now, but that's why Thanatos is in charge right now, not me. I can't take all of this right now, while _she_ can.

"We were actually looking for somewhere to stay. You see, these fledglings can't live by themselves; they will not survive. They need to stay here at the House of Night around adult vampyres." Shekinah said, creeping forward. This isn't the Shekinah I knew; she's different, much different. She's…dark.

In the corner of my eye I could see Kalona clenching and unclenching his fists while Erebus's hands were staying dangerously close to the hilt of his sword.

"They have been perfectly capable of surviving on their own _before_ they were at the House of Night—" Thanatos interjected.

"They need to stay here. They've realized their mistake." Shekinah kept stalking forward even more, and she must have pushed her welcome because Erebus drew his sword.

Aurox apparently didn't like the threat and he came forward. For a moment I thought everything that we had shared, everything I thought was good about him was gone, but there was one thing that reminded me that Heath might still be there. He hesitated. He looked to me for a fraction of a second, a sort of embarrassment and helplessness filled his eyes just before he transformed.

Aurox didn't have any weapons all he had was his power, and he used it. As Aurox lunged forward he began transforming into a bull. I could feel the presence of Darkness pulsating all around me, feeding off of our fear.

"Get your elements ready," I called over my shoulder.

Erebus stood ready for battle while Kalona stood near _us_, ready to protect _us_ from anything that slipped through. _I don't think I'll ever get used to him fighting with us, _I thought silently as the rest of the fledglings and Shekinah watch the battle unfold.

It took Aurox merely three strides before he met up with Erebus. In defense, Erebus lashed out his sword and Aurox suffered a terrible strike to his forearm, stopping him only for a second. Aurox stood there and his moonstone gaze looked at the gaping wound as drips of liquid ruby fell to the grass. He roared in response.

Unfortunately, I was no stranger to the scent of that blood. It didn't smell like I thought it would, full of darkness and all around nasty scent—like the raven mockers; it smelled like Heath. Our imprint.

_Focus._

I watched as Aurox's wound healed immediately. He smile viciously and started to attack Erebus again, but wasn't very successful. Erebus grabbed Aurox by the throat and squeezed tightly, lifting him off of the ground. His hooves kicked and kicked because it was the only defense that he had.

Aurox's efforts were no use. "Let's try this one more time," Erebus said. Once again squeezing harder around Aurox's throat. I could hear the choking, gargling noise coming from him. I cringed. "You and your little clan of fledglings will go back to where ever you were living before, and _never_ come back."

I thought I had heard power radiate from voices before, but this, Erebus speaking, was unreal. Everything around us seemed to respectfully sit in silence while his voice boomed around the courtyard. No crickets chirped, no owls or critters made a sound. The eerie silence only echoed and intensified his voice. I could feel goose bumps raise on my arm.

My eyes traveled back to Aurox and I could see that he was struggling. His hands were grasping Erebus's large forearm to try and release tension, but without prevail. Then something caught my eye. Aurox was changing, shifting back into his human form, and he was screaming in some sort of agony. His eyes were filled with uncontrolled terror. As soon as his body was completely human Erebus let Aurox go and he fell to his knees, clutching his neck, breathing hard, eyes wide. "Leave." Erebus ordered.

It must have been the power that radiated, or maybe the intimidation factor because they all left, just like that.

_Did Erebus force Aurox to shift back into a human? How is that possible? Is it even possible?_

"Thanatos, Zoey, and Zoey's circle I need you to cast a protection spell. Now. Before any of them return." Erebus ordered again. I thought about the last time this school had a protection spell, and how well that worked. It was almost like Erebus could read my thoughts because he spoke up. "The goddess will help with the spell, but in order for her to help you need to cast it."

"Okay," I said softly and began reciting the ancient words of a protection spell. I held hands with everyone as they repeated after me.

"_Air that blows, protect our home and all within it._

_Fire that burns, protect our home and all within it._

_Water that washes away, protect our home and all within it._

_Earth that is here to stay, protect our home and all within it._

_Side by side, spirit and faith, Goddess watching over us, guard this home of ours."_

As I finished the spell I opened my eyes to see a glowing purple dot in the sky—so small that it almost looked like a star, and it seemed to be expanding, like a purple sheet over a dome. The edges of it glowed with colors of the elements: yellow, red, blue, and green. As soon as it was finished it looked like a purple dome had been cast over us, there was a flash of light and then it was gone, invisible to any eye.

"The spell will only allow beings that are truly faithful to Light enter, anything else will not be allowed access." Erebus informed.

My heart sunk. I'm not going to be able to see Aurox again; at least not any time soon. _Maybe it's a good thing, _my conscience yelled… at least for now. At least until I figure everything out.

. . .

Later that night, I found myself wanting to be separated from my friends, from Thanatos, _Kalona_, even Aphrodite. She heard me yell out Heath's name, and I still haven't talked to her about that yet.

I walked by myself into the courtyard and to the giant statue of Nyx. I looked at her cement face and carved body. This statue hardly did her justice, she was much more beautiful than anyone could capture.

I crept down to my knees next to the base of the structure and brushed away some of the leaves that were on the nameplate.

"Beautiful Night, isn't it Zoey Redbird?" I heard a voice say behind me.

I quickly turned around. Erebus. I hastily stood up and he strode over to stand next to me. He gazed upon the statue, a smile on his face. I never noticed before how much him and Kalona looked alike and yet they were still there own. Where Kalona's eyes were deep and seductive, Erebus' were kind and welcoming like he was ready to help and protect anyone. His bronze hair reflected just enough gold in the gas lantern light that it made it look more blonde than bronze. His skin—perfect. His wings were the most dazzling; they were bright gold—jewelry gold—and held the same shimmer his hair did. They seemed so different, compared to the dark, black ones I've been used to seeing.

I realized I had been staring for too long and responded. "Y-yes. It is." I faced the statue again. " A beautiful night."

"Any particular reason you chose to spend it alone?" he asked sincerely.

"I'm not alone," I looked up at Nyx's face and then at my shoes. "even if it feels like it sometimes." I mumbled.

"You don't seem to truly believe what you are saying."

"Well," I started. This is weird. Nyx's consort is here, talking to me. He knows Nyx. He's immortal, just like her. How can I tell him the truth without feeling judged? "It's just hard sometimes," I stated, looking at the ground. "Sometimes, with everything that is going on, with my mother," a big lump started forming in my throat and I knew tears were coming, but I didn't hide them. I cried. I cried in front of Nyx's consort. "It's just hard. I don't know what to do. Everything I do feels like a mistake. I don't know how we are going to win this. Every time we plan something against Neferet she's on step ahead." I rambled in-between sobs.

"Zoey," Erebus said softly. "Nyx has gifted you for a reason. She chose you for a reason. You're more powerful than and fledgling here, use that."

"If I'm so powerful then why are you here?"

"To protect you and the school while you do what you were destined to."

"What is that exactly?" I asked.

A playful smile crawled on Erebus's face. "That is not for me to tell you, young Priestess. You must find out on your own." With that, he turned around and walked away, leaving Nyx and myself, alone.

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